Brief cases and suitcases both are well known in the art which incorporate a main body of the case having a rigid peripheral wall, to which a lid having a rigid peripheral wall is hinged. A handle is provided for carrying the case, and, suitable locks are provided interconnecting the main body of the case and the lid.
In a brief case in particular, the top and bottom walls of the case commonly are rigid and are attached respectively directly to the associated rigid frame of the main body and the lid. In a suitcase, the top and bottom walls of the case can either be rigid, or, optionally they can be formed from panels of a flexible fabric material which are respectively attached at their peripheral edges to the associated rigid frame of the case body and the lid.
More particularly in a brief case construction, it is known to attach the bottom wall of the case body by means of an accordian pleated peripheral skirt attached to the rigid peripheral frame at one of its edges, and to the associated bottom wall at the opposite one of its edges, the peripheral skirt being flexible and permitting the interior volume of the brief case to be expanded by releasing members holding the bottom wall in a normal position in which it is closely adjacent the rigid peripheral frame, and by then extending the accordian pleated skirt. However, accordian pleated skirts are unsightly in appearance, both in the normal position of the bottom wall and its extended position, and also are readily subject to perforation, tearing or ripping in the event that the case is handled roughly.